In November 1989, three weeks before the U.S. invasion, I attended a
conference in Panama hosted by Panama's Center for International Studies to
inform 118 U.S. delegates about what was taking place.Panamanians were already under constant
attack by U.S. troops who staged almost-daily military exercises in Panamanian
territory where U.S. forces were obligated by treaty not to operate.The Panamanians at the conference,
including Provisional President Francisco Rodríguez and General Manuel Noriega,
made it clear that the issue was not Noriega or democracy or the safety of U.S.
citizens.The issue was
sovereignty--Panama’s right to determine its own history.Most people in the United States have
little knowledge of Panama’s history.This chronology, an enlargement of one that I wrote in 1990, is an
attempt to provide an historical context for the invasion.

1519:Old Panama City
founded.Sacked by British
buccaneer Henry Morgan 1671.

1751:Part of the Spanish
Viceroyalty of New Granada, including at that time the present republics of
Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

1821:Independence from Spain
during the battles for independence being waged with the leadership of Simón
Bolívar. Soon becomes part of Bolívar’s Greater Colombia union of Colombia,
Venezuela and Ecuador.(Within
this union present-day Colombia was known as New Granada and included Panama.)
Bolívar is elected president of Greater Colombia.

1823:On December 2, in what
becomes known as the Monroe Doctrine, President James Monroe stakes out the
Western Hemisphere as an exclusive U.S. sphere of influence.

1830:When Bolívar’s union
dissolves, Panama continues to be part of New Granada (which takes the name
Colombia in 1863).

1846:U.S. government concludes
treaty with New Granada stating Washington would guarantee "perfect
neutrality" of the isthmus.

1855:The Panama Railroad
across the isthmus from the Atlantic to the Pacific is finished on January
28.

1856:U.S. troops land in
Panama September 19-22 to protect U.S. interests, particularly the
railroad.

1865:U.S. troops land March
9-10 to protect lives and property of U.S. citizens and of course the railroad
during revolutionary activity.

1873:U.S. troops land at Bay
of Panama, Colombia, May 7-22 and September 23-October 9 to protect U.S.
interests during hostilities over who should govern Panama.

1885:U.S. troops land at Colón
January 18-19 to guard valuables on the Panama Railroad and to protect the
safes and vaults of the Panama Railroad Company.In March, April and May U.S. troops are in Panama at both ends
of the railroad, Colón and Panama City, to protect the railroad during
revolutionary activity.

1898:U.S. victory against
Spain in the Spanish-American War yields four territories with major ports for
the U.S. Navy:Cuba, Puerto Rico,
Philippines, and Guam.

1901:U.S. troops land in
Panama November 20-December 4 to protect U.S. property and to keep the railroad
open.Washington decides
definitely to build the Panama Canal.

1902:U.S. troops land
September 17-November 18 to keep the railroad open.

PERMANENT PRESENCE OF U.S. TROOPS

1903:In November, the Theodore
Roosevelt Administration engineers the separation of Panama from Colombia.. The
Hay-Bunau-Varilla treaty is then negotiated for the building of a canal.U.S. troops become a permanent presence.

1904:Extra U.S. troops to
prevent insurrection during elections.Meanwhile, U.S. policy undermines and weakens the national army. No
Panamanian can become president without the approval ofWashington.

1908:Extra U.S. troops to
prevent insurrection during elections.

1912:Extra U.S. troops to
prevent insurrection during elections. In May, Washington appoints a commission
of high-ranking U.S. Army officers to count the votes in June elections.

1914:Panama Canal opens.U.S. troops control a ten-mile-wide
Canal Zone across the middle of the country.In order to cross from one side of their country to the
other, Panamanians must identify themselves to U.S. troops.In the Zone, U.S. employees receive
more than twice the wage that Panamanians receive.At this time an oligarchy rules with land and money for the
few while 90 percent are excluded.Segregation is enforced by a system of laws like the Jim Crow laws in
the United States.

1918-20:Extra U.S. troops to
provide police duty at Chiriquí (western Panama) during election disturbances
and subsequent unrest. In 1918, President Ciro Urriola issues a decree that
postpones elections. Washington orders the decree revoked and U.S. troops
occupy Panama City and Colón.

1920:Major labor strike
directed by William Preston Stoute, who is banished from the country.

1925:Extra U.S. troops on
October 12-23 to keep order and protect U.S. interests during rent strikes by
tenants.

1930s-40s:Washington is
occasionally forced to make deals.For instance, in exchange for more U.S. military sites outside the Canal
Zone on the eve of entering World War II, the U.S. Government cancels some
debt, gives monetary compensation for the sites, transfers to Panama certain
properties of the Panama Railroad Company and control over the water and sewer
systems of Panama City and Colón, grants some jurisdictional control to Panama.

1947:On December 10,
Panamanian Foreign Minister Francisco A. Filos and U.S. Ambassador Frank Hines
sign the Filos-Hines Treaty to extend the presence of the 140 U.S. military
bases and defense sites used during World War II.Successful Panamanian resistance leads to the treaty’s
defeat in the National Assembly two weeks later.

1955:Washington agrees to pay
more for Canal expenses, to let Panama collect taxes from employees excepting
U.S. citizens and some others, and to restore a little property to Panama.

1958:Campaign demanding equal
status for the Spanish language and the Panamanian flag in the Canal Zone. The
Eisenhower Administration agrees both flags can fly at a specified place.

1959:On January 1, Cuban
Revolution triumphs, profoundly influencing the Panamanian people. Disturbances
occur in each of the first four months of this year.

1959:On Independence Day
Panamanians march into the Canal Zone to raise the Panamanian flag; U.S. troops
turn them back. Washington begins to convert police force into full-fledged
military.Washington later fears
this military because of its potential as a nationalist force.

1964:On January 9, U.S.
students raise the U.S. flag by itself at a high school in the Canal Zone.Protesting Panamanians march into the
Zone and are turned back by U.S. troops.This leads to two days of demonstrations during which U.S. troops kill
more than 20 civilians and wound more than 300.Panama breaks diplomatic relations and demands revision of
treaties.Relations resume in
April after Washington agrees to discuss treaties.

OVERTHROW OF THE OLIGARCHY

1968:On October 11, the
National Guard, under Col. Omar Torrijos, overthrows the government of the
oligarchy and installs a junta from which Torrijos emerges the leader.He heads the armed forces 1968-81.Torrijos moves toward independence from
Washington, relying on the nationalist base.Torrijos is not part of the oligarchy; his base comes from
the dispossessed.Under his
leadership, the Panamanian Defense Forces become part of the movement for
national liberation.During the
government of Torrijos and the National Guard, public schools increase from
fewer than 2,000 to more than 3,000; infant mortality decreases from 40 to 25
per 1,000 live births; social security is extended by more than 1 million;
roads and electricity are brought to rural areas; labor unions grow.

1972:Junta is confirmed by
election.Torrijos remains as the
head of Panamanian Defense Forces.

1974:Panama and Cuba
re-establish diplomatic relations.

1976:General Omar Torrijos
makes a state visit to Cuba.In
the joint communiqué issued by the two countries, Cuba supports Panama’s
struggle for sovereignty in the Canal Zone.

1976:On December 8, CIA
Director George H.W. Bush meets with Manuel Noriega for lunch at the home of
the Panamanian ambassador to the United States.Noriega, a graduate of the School of the Americas, is on the
CIA payroll.

1977:The Carter Administration
signs three agreements known as the Carter-Torrijos treaties, arranging for the
return of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama at midnight December 31, 1999.

1979:The Carter-Torrijos
treaties take effect October 1 and 65 percent of the Canal Zone is returned to
Panama.Areas still under
U.S. control are called green zones; those under Panamanian conrol are white
zones. Washington has the responsibility of operating and defending the Canal
through December 31, 1999, but not after that.

1981:Ronald Reagan becomes
president January 20, with his commitment not to "lose" the
Canal.Six months later, on July
31, General Omar Torrijos is killed in an airplane crash.

1983:On January 5, in an
effort to settle Central American conflicts, the foreign ministers of Colombia,
Mexico, Panama and Venezuela meet on the Panamanian island of Contadora and
draft an initial proposal, calling for an end to all foreign intervention in
the region, suspension of all military aid, and negotiations to end El
Salvador’s civil war and the fighting in Nicaragua between government troops
and “contras.”

1983:General Manuel Noriega
takes over in August as commander of Panama’s Defense Forces. The National
Assembly endows the Defense Forces with vast powers (control over National
Guard which is merged into it, other military and police forces, Canal matters,
and functions such as immigration control and regulation of civilian aircraft).
Noriega has been working with the CIA since at least 1959 (as a contract agent
since 1966 or 1967).The U.S. Army
put him on its payroll as an intelligence asset in 1955 and keeps him there
until 1986.But Noriega too faces
a choice if he wants to achieve real power (see 1968):the choice between Washington and his
nationalist base.

1983:In December,
Vice-President George H.W. Bush meets with General Noriega, this time at the
Panama City airport when Bush is seeking support for the “contras” in Nicaragua.Also at the meeting are Panamanian
President Ricardo de la Espriella and the Vice President’s national security
adviser Donald P. Gregg.(During
his 1988 presidential campaign, Vice-President Bush denies ever having met
Noriega, but a photograph of this meeting restores his memory.)

1984:Presidential election of
May 6 is a fraud arranged by Reagan Administration operatives and Noriega.Nicolás Ardito Barletta, former
official of the World Bank, wins.Secretary of State George Shultz attends inauguration of his protégé
(Ardito Barletta had been an assistant to Shultz when Shultz was a University
of Chicago professor) to praise the election as democracy in action.

1985:Hugo Spadaforo, who
opposes Noriega, is assassinated.

1985:On November 1, CIA
Director William Casey meets with Noriega in Washington and complains about
Noriega’s part in trade with Cuba that facilitates circumvention of the U.S.
trade embargo against Cuba.

1985:Noriega later tells CBS
(interview broadcast on “60 Minutes,” February 7, 1988)that during a meeting on December 17,
1985,with the U.S. National
Security Adviser, Admiral John Poindexter, he learned of Washington’s plan to
invade Nicaragua.Noriega says
that his failure to cooperate is the reason for his indictment in February
1988.

1986:The Reagan
Administrationproposes turning
the administration of the Canal over to Panama by 1990 if U.S. military bases
can remain until 2015.

1986: On June 12, Seymour Hersh
reports in the New York Times that senior State Department, White House,
Pentagon and intelligence officials say that Noriega has been providing
intelligence information to both Cuba and the United States for 15 years and
that he is “a secret investor in Panamanian export companies that sell
restricted American technology to Cuba and Eastern European countries.”

1987:On January 23-26, Ovidio
Díaz, president of Panama’s National Assembly, heads a delegation of Panamanian
legislators to Cuba.Their meeting
with Deputy Foreign Minister Ricardo Alarcón is primarily concerned with the
Contadora peace process.Díaz
tells a Granma reporter that a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in
Central America is vital to Panama in order to avoid a pretext that could be
used by Washington to undermine the Torrijos‑Carter agreements on handing over
possession of the Panama Canal to Panama by the year 2000.

1987:On April 3, three men are
indicted in Miami for allegedly selling more than $1 million worth of high‑tech
computer equipment in 1985 to Siboney International in Panama, identified as a
Cuban "front."

1987:On June 6, Col. Roberto
Díaz Herrera, 2nd in command of Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF), accuses
Noriega of electoral fraud and murder and sets off the first anti-Noriega
protests suppressed by police.

1987:On June 10, President
Eric Delvalle, installed by Noriega, declares a state of emergency. Opposition
announces creation of the Civic Crusade, which Washington aids.

1987:On September 24, the U.S.
Senate unanimously approves non-binding resolution urging Panama to establish
civilian government or face cutoff of U.S. aid.

1988:On January 17, the New
York Times reports that Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard L. Armitage made
a secret mission to Panama early in January during which he told Noriega
"to get out of politics within three months so that the country could have
a cushion of civilian rule before elections next year."

1988:Before he has time to
“get out of politics,” Noriega is indicted on February 4 by two Federal grand
juries in Tampa and Miami on charges of taking $5.4 (Tampa indictment) and $4.6
(Miami) million dollars from Medellín drug cartel to protect cocaine smuggling
and money laundering operations in Panama.Such drug-profiteering has not led to indictments unless
Washington has decided to target the person involved.The CIA is no stranger to drug-profiteering; see Alfred W.
McCoy, The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade (New York:
Lawrence Hill Books, 1991).From
1978 until 1987, Noriega received numerous letters of appreciation from U.S.
officials for his cooperation in combating drug trafficking--for example, from
Attorney General William French Smith in 1984 and DEA Administrator John C.
Lawn in 1987.

1988:Four days after his
indictment, Noriega demands withdrawal of the U.S. Southern Command, which has
its headquarters in Panama.

1988:On Febrary 25, President
Delvalle announces he has fired Noriega, but the National Assembly blocks this
move by ousting Delvalle on the following day.Washington continues to recognize Delvalle as president. The
National Assembly names Education Minister Manuel Solís Palma minister in
charge of the presidency.

1988:Panama closes banks on
March 4 after huge withdrawals by depositors.

1988:In April, the Reagan
Administration increases economic sanctions; Reagan prohibits U.S. companies
and Government from making payments to Panama and freezes $56 million in
Panamanian funds in U.S. banks.More than 2,000 additional U.S. troops begin to arrive in Panama.

1988:On May 8, Panama banks
open for limited withdrawals after two-month closure.

1988:On May 13, Senator
Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) proposes on ABC-TV that U.S. military forces "go in
and get [Noriega] out" of Panama.

1988:On May 25, U.S. Secretary
of State Shultz announces that talks about a deal for Noriega’s departure have
collapsed.

1988:On May 25, the UN Social
and Economic Council elects Panama and Cuba to represent Latin America on the
UN Human Rights Commission.

1988:In July, the U.S. Senate
Intelligence Committee opposes a covert plan to overthrow Noriega.The plot is known as “Panama 3” because
it is the third coup plot hatched by the CIA against Noriega.President Reagan approved the plan, but
the Senate committee fears Noriega would be killed during the coup.The existence of this plot is exposed
after a failed coup attempt in October 1989.Panama has created Dignity Battalions, popular
militias to help train workers and farmers to defend Panama against U.S.
invasion.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH PRESIDENCY

1989:George H.W. Bush is
inaugurated as president on January 20.

1989:On March 18, respondingto U.S. denial of visas to the mayors
of Havana, Managua and Panama City for a conference on drugs in New York,
Bogotá's mayor, Andrés Pastrana Borrero, says that neither he nor New York's
mayor, Ed Koch, were in favor of that decision.

1989:The Panamanian
presidential election of May 7 pits Carlos Duque against Guillermo Endara.U.S. Government openly gives $10 million
to the Endara campaign (it is illegal for a U.S. candidate to accept election
funds from foreign sources).Election results are annulled by the Panamanian Government on May 10.The Bush Administration sends 2,000
more troops. From this time on, U.S. Armed Forces stage regular military
exercises in Panamanian territory--the “white” zones--in violation of treaties.

1989:On May 11, President Bush
recalls the U.S. ambassador and plans to dispatch about 1,700 soldiers and 165
marines in phases to reinforce troops already in Panama.

1989:In June the U.S. Justice
Department issues statement that U.S. law- enforcement agents may arrest
fugitives in foreign countries even if host governments do not approve,
preparing the way for the arrest of Noriega after invasion.

1989:Speaking to reporters in
Guatemala on June 12, Vice President Dan Quayle warns that "the axis of
Cuba, Nicaragua and Panama" opposes the United States and democracy in the
region.

1989:Washington’s plans to
invade Panama are an open secret.For example, on August 21, an editorial in the Cuban daily newspaper
Granma warns of imminent U.S. aggression against Panama.

1989:Provisional President
Francisco Rodríguez takes office on September 1 as President Solís Palma's term
expires.

1989:On September 12, the Bush
Administration expands sanctions, including withdrawal of 1989 sugar quota and
lengthening the list of companies and individuals barred from receiving
payments from U.S. citizens.

1989:On October 3, Noriega
puts down another coup attempt which was aided by the U.S. Government.

1989:Two weeks later, on
October 17, the Bush Administration says it supports wider latitude for CIA
during coup attempts, complaining that restraints about possible death of
targets are too limiting.

1989:On October 27, confirming
news that first broke in the Los Angeles Times a week earlier, the U.S.
Treasury Department announces that Noriega has been designated an agent of
Cuba.Since the U.S. Government
outlaws trade with Cuban agents, this means that U.S. citizens are prohibited
from doing business with him.Noriega's wife, various associates, and many companies are declared
Cuban agents either at the same time or soon afterward.

1989:President Bush attends a
“Hemispheric celebration of democracy” hosted by Costa Rican President Oscar
Arias.He brings two guests,
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro of Nicaragua and Guillermo Endara of Panama.

1989:In November, the U.S.
Government announces that after January 31, 1990, it will bar vessels registered
in Panama from U.S. ports.

1989:On November 16, the Bush
Administration confirms a plan for another coup to oust Noriega.Called “Panama 5” (there were 4
previous plans), it has a $3 million budget. The aim is not assassination but
if that were to happen, "that's not constrained," a Government
official says. The CIA is supposed to be bound by a 1976 executive orderbanning its involvement in
assassination plots.

1989:On November 22, in his
Thanksgiving address to the nation, President Bush declares that the “winds of
change” are “transforming the Americas” with “some exceptions:Panama, Nicaragua and Cuba.”

1989:On November 27-29, a
conference on U.S. intervention is held in Panama City by Panama's Center for
International Studies to inform 118 U.S. delegates about what has been
happening.At the opening session,
Provisional President Francisco Rodríguez says, “You will see a variety of
ideas that practically cover the spectrum of contemporary political thought,
and all these participants are outstanding figures of the government, of the
process of transformation which we Panamanians are determined to carry
out.”He speaks “of defending our
right to perfect the independence of Panama.”For Panamanians the issue is clearly sovereignty.

1989:On December 15, the
Panamanian National Assembly names Noriega head of government and declares that
Panama is in "a state of war" with the United States due to the U.S.
Government’s harsh economic sanctions and almost-daily military maneuversin Panamanian territory (the white
zones), exercises that are prohibited by the Torrijos-Carter Treaties.

DECEMBER 20, 1989, INVASION:OPERATION JUST CAUSE

*At 1:00 a.m., U.S. officials install Guillermo Endara as Panama’s new
president.The secret ceremony
takes place on a military base--Fort Clayton, one of 13 bases in the Canal
Zone.

*As the new president’s inauguration is taking place, the U.S. Army, Air
Force and Navy invade Panama, an area smaller than South Carolina, with a
massive air attack and ground assault, including almost 28,000 troops and more
than 300 aircraft.Helicopter gunships blast Panama City, where the wooden housing of the
poor in El Chorillo is set on fire.The New York Times later reports that U.S. troops encounter “fierce
resistance” in San Miguelito, a working-class suburb of 200,000 people, but
Miguelito is devastated.Large
parts of Colón are destroyed.Thousands of citizens are held in detention.Bodies are recovered from ruins and cremated.There is a mass burial on Christmas Day.Nobody knows how many civilians are
killed because all of them are not counted; estimates range into the
thousands.Hospitals overflow with
wounded.

*The Defense Department tries out one of its new superweapons--the Lockheed
F-117A stealth ground attack aircraft.Defense Secretary Dick Cheney announces that each of two F-117A
“Nighthawks” has delivered a 2,000-pound bomb with “pinpoint accuracy.”He is furious when he learns months
later, in April, that one of the bombs missed its target by hundreds of
yards.General Colin Powell,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is part of a major failure of
communication about the mission of the F-117As on their first combat bombing
run.

*Just as the Pentagon stifled news during the 1983 invasion of Grenada, the
Defense Department flies a select media pool based in Washington (rather than
Panama) to Howard Air Force Base and then by helicopter to Fort Clayton, where
they are restricted to a holding room until the major fighting is over.They are not allowed to leave the base
on their own but must be escorted and prevented from taking photographs of
realities like damaged helicopters or caskets of U.S. soldiers.Military officials provide
misinformation about military and civilian casualties.In one of Noriega’s residences, they
show reporters a white substance that General Maxwell Thurman, head of
SouthCom, confirms is cocaine.This makes front-page news in the United States, but it’s
disinformation;the “cocaine” is
“farina, corn meal and lard” used to make tamales.CNN broadcasts a telephone number for Panama residents to
call; those reports provide stories of civilian neighborhoods under attack.

*At a press conference on the day of the invasion, President Bush tells the
world, “The goals of the United States have been to safeguard the lives of
Americans, to defend democracy in Panama, to combat drug trafficking, and to
protect the integrity of the Panama Canal treaty,” adding that he has directed
the Armed Forces “to bring General Noriega to justice in the United States.”

*U.S. troops in armored personnel carriers surround the Cuban, Nicaraguan
and Libyan Embassies in Panama City on he pretext that Manuel Noriega may be
inside one of them, although both General Thomas Kelly and Rear Admiral Ted
Sheafer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff acknowledge on U.S. television that there
is no evidence that Noriega has sought asylum in any of them.Until January 18, U.S. troops continue
to surround the Cuban Embassy and the home of the Cuban ambassador to Panama,
Lázaro Mora Secade, occasionally detaining the ambassador and other Cuban
diplomats.It turns out that
Noriega is inside the papal nunciature in Panama City.On January 3, he surrenders to U.S.
troops and is immediately flown to prison in Florida.